TRAIL RUNNING
Team Cricket takes on the night navigation ( left ) and unrelenting daytime heat
Definitely Not Cricket
Appropriately , the final team to ‘ come in to bat ’ on the flat Verneukpan pitch was Team Cricket , with all-rounder Lance Klusener joined by former fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini and Monde Zondeki to give the team good balance . The team was managed by legendary fielding maestro Jonty Rhodes – still fondly remembered for his diving run-out heroics at the 1992 World Cup – and he says , “ The rugby and soccer guys are used to 90 minutes and fighting through the pain barrier , as do the endurance runners . That ’ s why I specifically chose two of our fast bowlers , as they very often have to break through this barrier , too , and usually over two or three days . The other big advantage was that all three played together previously , and one cannot underestimate the strength of that camaraderie , so I had no doubt they would pull together well , especially when it got tough .”
Makhaya was the first black player to play for the Proteas , making his debut in 1998 and remaining part of the national team set-up until retiring in 2011 . In that time he took 390 Test wickets in 101 Tests , becoming just the third player to reach the 300-wicket milestone , and 266 ODI wicket in 173 appearances . Monde , who played five Tests and 11 ODI matches for SA , will be remembered for struggling in his first Test against England in 2003 , when injury restricted his bowling to just a few overs , but he still managed to hit 59 in the first innings and put on 150 for the eighth wicket with Gary Kirsten . In his second Test , he took nine wickets against Zimbabwe , and he was the leading wicket-taker in the 2007 – 08 South African season , with 62 wickets .
The third member of the team , Lance , was known in cricketing circles as Zulu , as he can speak the language fluently and has done match commentary in that language . He was a hard-hitting all-rounder who played 49 Test and 171 ODI matches for SA , scoring centuries in both forms of the game and taking 80 Test and 192 ODI wickets . His finest hour came in the 1999 World Cup , when he was voted player of the tournament and was unlucky not to get the team into the final , after an unfortunate run-out in the final over of the semi-final against Australia , with the ties scored and needing just one run from three balls . Since retiring in 2004 he has been coaching both locally and abroad .
The Proteas legends on the long trek
Surviving a Tough Spell
As with the previous three teams , Erik says , “ The team spirit shown by Team Cricket was absolutely phenomenal , and I was blown away by the support these guys showed their team mates and myself . When we first started , Makhaya said , ‘ We are not necessarily in it to win it , but rather here to do it ,’ and that is exactly what they did , and then some . They made an exceptional finish to the challenge .”
Commenting on his time in the pan , Ntini says , “ Next to Mount Kilimanjaro , this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done .” Meanwhile , Monde says he felt relief , joy and pride to cross the finish line . “ Right from the start , I said I wasn ’ t sure what to expect , so I started with some misgivings . Besides the really cold temperatures at night , we managed the rest quite well , and our goal was always to try and beat Team Rugby ,” he says .
Fun seemed to be a common theme mentioned by all three participants . “ Yes , it was tough ,” says Lance , “ but we never forgot to have fun . Having trained correctly also helped . Erik had advised us to spend as much time on our feet as possible , and this really allowed us to make smarter decisions . The most difficult part was just after the 90km mark , when we encountered a lot of wind . We were dead tired and had to navigate both the cart , affectionately nicknamed Shimmy , and the corrugations in the road . We ended up just pushing through to get ahead of the clock , and the fact we all jelled so well really helped .”
Monde wonders why the cart suddenly feels so heavy
The pan stretches as far as the eye can see One or two hills to negotiate
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